Want to make a lasting impact on someone? Disguise you’re creativity as something else. “What do you mean,” you ask?
Take this wonderful example of an unlikely disguise by Art Lebedev Studio. It’s packaging for a fragrance called Levelus. Can you figure out who this particular product is aimed at?
Imagine a burly man walking down a store’s fragrance aisle. He’s looking to impress a girl and wants the least effeminate cologne he can find. About to give up, he sees something that doesn’t belong. There’s a level on the shelf! Then he realizes it’s actually a fragrance. The exact thing he’s looking for!
The unlikely disguise not only grabs the man’s attention, it gives him a sense of familiarity that makes him comfortable with the product. A new idea is embraced by an unlikely audience because it relates to ideas that are familiar to them.
This isn’t a new concept…people have been doing this for years. It’s about taking your message and translating it into the language of an audience that wouldn’t traditionally consume your creativity.
- Music: Classical music has been translated into dance music to appeal to a new audience (by women dressed like they’re going to the club). Eg Bond, Vanessa Mae, etc…
- The Bible: Has been translated into street language, a social network, and japanese comic books.
So what can you do to disguise your creativity and reach someone you wouldn’t normally reach?
